The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Auxentius of Durostorum
foster-son of Ulfilas; Arian bishop at Milan c. AD 385–395 · Bishop of Durostorum · Arian anti-bishop of Milan, as Mercurinus · Durostorum, Moesia → Milan
The Nicene Age
Who Auxentius of Durostorum was
Brought up by Ulfilas from the age of seven, and the author of the letter that is the primary source for Ulfilas’ life, faith and death — preserved because Maximinus the Arian copied it into the margins of a manuscript of the Council of Aquileia. He later came to Milan as the Homoian candidate against Ambrose, using the name Mercurinus, and Ambrose refused to yield the basilica to him. Distinct from Auxentius of Milan, the earlier Arian bishop who died in 374 and is already in the archive.
Also listed in bishops beyond the great sees and heretics & schismatics.
Common questions
When did Auxentius live?
Auxentius of Durostorum is dated foster-son of Ulfilas; Arian bishop at Milan c. AD 385–395 in the archive, which places Auxentius in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
What did Auxentius write?
Auxentius of Durostorum has 1 catalogued writing in the archive: Letter on the faith, life and death of Ulfilas.
Which early sources mention Auxentius?
Auxentius of Durostorum is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Auxentius of Durostorum and Ambrose of Milan. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Auxentius from?
The archive associates Auxentius of Durostorum with Durostorum, Moesia, Milan. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Writings (1)
Letter on the faith, life and death of Ulfilas
c. AD 383[The primary source for Ulfilas. Survives only in Maximinus’ marginal notes on a manuscript of the Aquileian acts.]
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
The Letter on the faith, life and death of Ulfilas — by his own foster-son
c. AD 383[Auxentius records that Ulfilas raised him from his seventh year, and gives the account of his teacher’s life and death.]Auxentius of Durostorum · Auxentius, Epistula de Ulfila
The letter of Auxentius of Durostorum on the life, faith and death of his teacher Ulfilas — the only account of Ulfilas by someone who knew him. Preserved embedded in the Arian scholia on the Council of Aquileia in Paris, BnF lat. 8907, and edited with those scholia by Roger Gryson, Scripta Arriana Latina I, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 87 (1982).
Letters 20 and 21 — the struggle over the Milanese basilicas with the Arian claimant Mercurinus
c. AD 386[Ambrose refuses to surrender a basilica to the Arian bishop who had taken the name Mercurinus.]Ambrose of Milan · Ambrose, Epp. 20–21 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
- AD 361 · Julian’s pagan restoration, AD 361
- AD 366 · Damasus and the catacomb epigrams, AD 366
- AD 367 · Athanasius lists the 27 NT books, AD 367
- AD 372 · The martyrdom of Sabbas the Goth, AD 372
- AD 378 · Queen Mavia’s revolt, AD 378
- AD 380 · The Edict of Thessalonica, AD 380
- AD 381 · The Council of Constantinople, AD 381
- AD 381 · The Council of Aquileia, AD 381
- AD 384 · The Altar of Victory petition, AD 384
- AD 390 · Thessalonica and the penance of Theodosius, AD 390
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Auxentius.